DC Extended Universe 5: Justice League

DCEU 5: Justice League (2017)

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars


I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this movie despite being a little put off right off the bat that they did not keep iconic characters the same as already established (like the Flash) similar to how the MCU merges their movie and TV line-ups. DC is going an entirely different route and intentionally trying to keep the two separate. Don't know how that will work for them long term, as it currently seems like a good way to lose some of the fans who might only tune in because they love those established series already. Other than being a different actor, The Flash comes off as being severely unprepared and disjointed. His suite seriously looks like it's held together by elastic bands and is just beyond awkward. Superman's resurrection was also done differently, though we all knew it had to be coming with the prior foreshadowing and knowing he's a big part of the JL from all the promotional stuff, let alone anyone knowing the original comics. I can't say it's my favorite superhero movie, but I can say I enjoyed it for the film it is. I'm not sure yet, given how knew it is comparatively speaking, the DCEU measures up to creating their own universe and connecting the movies along the way. They have potential. There will need to be more installments, and likely another JL movie before that can really be determined.

In Death 46: Dark in Death

In Death 46: Dark in Death by J.D. Robb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My delay finishing this was actually not a reflection of the book itself this time, but a series of events RL and other stories with a time limit on them to read that got in my way. When I was finally able to get back to it, I did not need to go back and re-read anything as the story still stayed with me, and finished the remainder in a matter of hours.

The twist of fiction into reality (when we are reading fiction ourselves as well) is a new twist that is rather entertaining. There are even more parallels and crosses in the characters and their connections that can easily be tracked. Eve does a remarkable job with it, especially that she only brings Roarke in minimally, and largely at the end after she has a more solid idea of how to track her suspect. It'll be interesting especially to see how things pan out for Nadine in the future with both a new intern (thanks to Eve's referral) and new boyfriend. We don't see Roarke much overall here, but there is a lot of interaction with Eve and the other cops beyond her main circle, which helps to highlight just how much her character has grow through the series. Standing in the middle of her bullpen holding a toddler? Never would have even been a blip on the radar in the beginning, but even "Das" can't resist Bella now. Despite that, she's still the tough as nails, dogged cop with a bite that she always has been.

46 books in and still going strong. It'll be interesting to see how far this series will go. For now though, I'm still loving it!

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Five-Minute Bedtime Stories

Five-Minute Bedtime Stories by Sam Taplin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm honestly not sure why these are classified as "bedtime" stories since they don't have anything to do with bedtime routines or going to bed. They are, however, very gentle stories that mostly have some thread of friendship in them and are short enough to hold a small child's attention span for a more ideal time period before bed. Five-minute story collections are a favorite of ours for bedtime routines as they seem to be just the right length to wind down and be ready to call it a night. Either way, this is a nice book to have in our collection, even if the title seems a little odd comparatively.

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Alpha & Omega 5: Burn Bright

Alpha & Omega 5: Burn Bright by Patricia Briggs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This took me a long time to read, significantly longer than most Patricia Briggs books take me. Part of it was that I got sucked into the world of Yuri!!! on Ice fanfiction. Another part is that the constant conflict with Leah annoys and drains me. I love the characters in this world, and I know Leah plays a very important part in keeping Bran sane, but she drives me nuts. I do not like her, and it is unlikely I ever will. Despite this, she ends up doing some good in the end of the book that isn't as aggravating when she helps against the skinwalker and clues into everything so quickly when Bran finally does return. No one can fault her intellect, that's for sure.

This story does perhaps make more sense since I also follow the Mercy Thompson series as this book takes place directly during the same time as Silence Fallen. If anything is the most interesting here, it is probably the lore of the skinwalker and seeing Anna learn even more about her unique abilities as an Omega within the pack.

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Marvel Cinematic Universe 19: Avengers 3 [Infinity War]

MCU 19: Avengers 3 [Infinity War] (2018)

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As an individual movie, this is very well made. It pulls and incorporates aspects of all the previous MCU movies very well. I really am not a fan of the ending however. I'm withholding final judgment on that until I see how it plays out in next year's Avengers movie. For now, however, unless they decide to take all the alternate roles they've subtly laid in place for many of the characters in the most recent films, there will be a lot of rewinding time and/or resurrection going on. Kind of interesting that it's back to the original Avengers plus War Machine going into this next phase unless some of the others who were missing this round decide to join back in. These characters are portrayed so well, it's hard to think about them changing to new actors or being replaced by different characters if they remain deceased in the main arc. On the flip side, that's what happens to movies. Hopefully it will all be for the best as the last few installments have been very well done. I mean, this is the only series I can think of with 19 films interlocking, plus an increasing number of TV shows, and still going strong. That has to say something for their work that it's still doing so well.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Official Ninja Turtle Handbook

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Official Ninja Turtle Handbook by Golden Books

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


My son loves Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so he was excited for this find at the school book fair. However, it's a little text heavy for an almost-three-year-old. He likes the pictures and identifying the different characters, though there are many we don't recognize, likely from the newest version of the series that we haven't yet seen. If he continues to love the series as he gets older and learns to read on his own, he may get more out of this book down the road.

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PJ Masks: It's Time to Save the Day!

PJ Masks: It's Time to Save the Day! by Natalie Shaw

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This is a very simple board book that runs through a couple of the PJ Masks adventures in relation to time. The clock hands move and there are instructions on each page spread to set the clock to the correct time for the story. Not overly advanced as far as actual reading goes, but a cute idea to help teach kids about reading time and how clocks work. Doesn't hurt that both kids actually like the series, so it means they both want to read the book.

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Aqualicious

Aqualicious by Victoria Kann

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


The Pinkalicuos books appear to be popular at my daughter's school. This is from the same series, though the title is changes slightly as it focuses on a merminnie (miniature mermaid) that Pinkalicious finds at the beach. Being a bigger story book instead of a learning to read installment, it does flush out the story a bit more. Overall, it's still very simple for small children. My daughter loved it, my son didn't pay any attention to it at all, and I didn't either love or hate it, so I rated it as okay for a children's book.

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